For what the law was powerless to do because it was weakened by the flesh,
God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh to be a sin offering.
(Romans 8:3)
commandments are powerless to redeem.
yes? no?
I have swept away your offenses like a cloud,
your sins like the morning mist.
Return to me,
for I have redeemed you.
Sing for joy, you heavens, for the Lord has done this;
shout aloud, you earth beneath.
Burst into song, you mountains,
you forests and all your trees,
for the Lord has redeemed Jacob,
he displays his glory in Israel.
(Isaiah 44:22-23)
the LORD wipes away sin and redeems,
Jacob does not absolve himself of guilt,
and Israel does not pay her own ransom.
yes? no?
what do we think,
is obedience and righteousness evidence of redemption, or stimulus that accomplishes a redemptive response?
is it cause or effect ?
if it is us working, salvation is a wage earned - our own glory, to be boasted of. (see: Romans 4:4)
if it is Him working in and through us, it is grace - His glory - and salvation is already accomplished in us, displayed by the firstfruits of the Spirit working in us.
is this the gospel you were going to get around to, D?
yes, no?
it is the one i received, the one for which i praise God, the one for which every morning i give thanks, and of which i am not ashamed.
that without the Lord, i have no good thing, and that i need Him every hour, and that i am in no way saved by my own works, but wholly trust in His name, completely dependent on His mercy.
Jah is great, and greatly to be praised!
i -- i am nothing but dust He has chosen to elevate.